Don't fall into these traps when dieting in winter

Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman states that when a healthy and sustainable diet is not followed, the weight gained can lead to some serious chronic diseases over time, and that quality of life will also be negatively affected in every sense. 

Stating that there are some seasonal handicaps in winter months that make dieting difficult and can prevent or slow down weight loss, Ozman emphasizes that ideal weight can be reached by avoiding these mistakes.

Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman explained 8 mistakes to avoid in a winter diet and made important warnings and suggestions. 

Reducing water consumption

 With the cooling of the weather in winter months, the amount of water lost through sweating decreases, which can prevent the feeling of thirst. However, it should not be forgotten that one should never wait to be thirsty to drink water. When water consumption decreases, it becomes difficult to lose weight. Again, since thirst signals can sometimes be confused with hunger, it can lead people to snack, which can make the weight loss process difficult.

Reducing fresh fruit and vegetable consumption

 Fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in winter months can be lower than in summer months. However, consuming salad and vegetables at meals prolongs the feeling of fullness and provides appetite control. In this way, it prevents turning to high-calorie snacks during the weight loss process and helps with portion control at meals. Again, consuming 1-2 portions of fruit in snacks can prevent turning to sugary foods and high-calorie snacks. 1 portion of fruit is equivalent to approximately 1 fist-sized fruit. 

Reducing movement

 With the cooling of the weather, outdoor activities may decrease and people may remain inactive in indoor environments. Due to the decrease in movement, difficulty in losing weight or an increase in weight may be observed. In order to lose weight easily in winter months as well, it is necessary not to take a break from exercises and to be as active as possible. 

Eating and snacking at late hours

 Time spent inactive at home may increase in the winter season. This can lead people to enjoyable, distracting, and high-calorie snacks.

Especially high calories taken in the evening hours can negatively affect the weight loss process. For this reason, it is important to stay away from enjoyable snacks such as fruit and nuts at late hours after eating a satisfying and balanced dinner at not-so-late evening hours, and to consume these snacks during the day.

Consuming fruit juice

In winter months, the consumption of freshly squeezed fruit juice may become frequent to protect against diseases. However, even if freshly squeezed, fruit juices contain high calories and the duration of keeping you full is short. Consuming the fruit itself instead of fruit juice keeps you full thanks to its fibrous structure, makes the intestines work, and has fewer calories than fruit juice. 

Eating out frequently 

Nutrition and Diet Specialist Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman says, “With the cooling of the weather in winter months, social activities may be restricted, and eating out can become a social activity.

However, it should not be forgotten; meals eaten out can often be high in calories.

As the frequency of eating out increases, the weight loss process may progress slowly due to the intense calories taken.” 

Resorting to shock diets

 With the difficulty of losing weight in winter months, people may sometimes resort to shock diets. These diets, which promise rapid weight loss in a short time, can make the weight loss process difficult by slowing down the metabolic rate in the long run. Instead, it is important for the person to adopt a diet model that is suitable for their lifestyle and that they can maintain in the long term. 

Giving up carbohydrates entirely

 While Nur Ecem Baydı Ozman states that carbohydrates are the first food group we remove from our diet when we want to lose weight, she gives the following warning: “However, carbohydrates are our primary energy source, meaning our body can quickly consume and convert this food group into energy.

For this reason, we must definitely include complex carbohydrates such as whole grain bread, bulgur, and legumes in our diet.

When we restrict carbohydrates in our diet, our tendency towards other carbohydrates, especially sugary foods, may increase, and this can make our weight loss process difficult.”